Coach - ACTES

Hiring Organization: Focus on Renewal

Salary: $44,000

Benefits: Medical insurance, dental insurance, 403(b) plan, vacation time, paid sick

time, paid personal time, paid holidays, Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

About Focus on Renewal

The Focus On Renewal Sto-Rox Neighborhood Corporation (FOR) was founded in 1969. FOR founders led a group of mobilized citizens and community activists to create an umbrella organization for much needed social services now ranging from food security, nutrition, early-childhood education, support groups, crime prevention and mental health services. Also included are arts programs for all ages and access to the Sto-Rox Public Library. FOR has now grown to house 30 staff at four locations throughout McKees Rocks and Stowe Township. The Organization provides support to the people in our

neighborhood through programs for all ages designed to develop resilient, contributing members of a thriving community. We work with a wide range of partners to ensure high quality programming is accessible to all 13,000 residents of the Sto-Rox Community.

Program Overview

Achieving Change Through Transitional Employment Services (ACTES) is a new and critical program at Focus on Renewal. The Behavioral Health Manager is responsible for overseeing the quality and fidelity of the cognitive behavioral intervention (CBI) component of the Allegheny County Community Violence Reduction Initiative transitional employment and service delivery program. This program is adapted from the READI Chicago model and developed in partnership with Heartland Alliance.

Position Description

The Coach is responsible for providing quality wraparound case management services to program participants for the Allegheny County Community Violence Reduction Initiative transitional employment program and service delivery program. This program is adapted from the READI Chicago model and developed in partnership with Heartland Alliance.

The Coach will provide individual coaching, personal and professional development, case management, and ongoing supportive services to participants and their families. The Coach will be responsible for connecting both staff and program participants to resources intended to address emerging needs. The position requires a firm knowledge base of accessible, trauma informed, culturally relevant resources proven to support men experiencing complex trauma caused by prolonged exposure to poverty, crime, and victimization from violent offenses. The Coach will be an excellent problem solver, comfortable with conflict and facilitating conflict resolution interventions, energetic and flexible, and collaborative.

The Coach will report directly to the Site Staff Supervisor.

Duties

• Provide seamless support to participants and staff:
• Participate in professional development trainings including, but not limited to, trainings focused on principles of trauma-informed care, cognitive-behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, conflict de-escalation, harm reduction, and other relevant concepts, and apply that knowledge on a daily basis.
• Attend regular staff meetings, partner meetings, one on one supervision meetings, and community meetings.
• Successfully complete training in designated CBT curriculum, and be prepared to deliver CBT sessions to participants as a substitute facilitator in the event that clinical staff is unable to do so.
• Review daily feedback performance reports from Work Crew Supervisor and respond accordingly with participants in collaboration with the Clinician and Clinical Support.
• Visit crews at work sites to enhance understanding of participants’ behaviors in various settings.
• Support unsubsidized job retention efforts through participant follow-up contacts, check-ins with employers when appropriate, alumni visits and events.
• Develop and maintain referral relationships for a range of support services; connect participants to appropriate services as needed; document disposition of appointments. Establish a directory of community-based resources to address wraparound service needs.
• As directed by Work Crew Supervisor, act as an intermediary between workers and employers when issues arise in the workplace
• Participate in participant case reviews.
• Complete and submit timely and accurate incident reports and all necessary paperwork, data entry, and reporting within 24 hours.
• Manage a caseload of approximately 15 program participants.
• Serve as a general advocate for participants; provide mentoring and supportive case management services to participants.
• Facilitate the development of individualized participant plans to achieve goals; continually reassesses goals and progress toward goals with participants in weekly sessions.
• Provide job search assistance and guide participants through transitional work experience and advancement opportunities.
• Perform assessments for participant career interests and aptitudes in order to match them with subsidized employment tasks, unsubsidized employment opportunities, and appropriate training.
• Lead work-readiness and job search skills instruction, including “soft skills,” resume preparation, interviewing skills, job search techniques, and related topics at the appropriate time in the TJ experience (in alignment with the participant’s career stage).
• Document the frequency at which resources are requested and utilized by both staff and participants.
• Provide bi-weekly reports to site management that highlight emerging resource patterns, opportunities, and partnerships.
• Provide family support services.
• Engage participants, families, and support networks to provide relevant and appropriate referrals, keeping in mind/adhering to best practice standards.
• Maintain professional communication with all necessary family stakeholders (i.e., family members, referring agencies, Outreach Workers, etc.)
• Connect families in need to (in-person/virtual) family-centered learning activities that support well defined goals and outcomes.
• Connect participant families to clinical bereavement support, peer support groups, and family services.
• Track family engagement efforts by documenting support, service, and case management provided to address needs.
• All other duties as assigned which may include weekends and/or events.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field of study such as social work or psychology required. Three to five years formal work experience performing case management, counseling/coaching in a social service setting, preferably with formerly incarcerated individuals, opportunity youth, or similarly at-risk populations, required.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills; excellent organizational skills.
• Computer literacy commensurate with job duties.
• Knowledge of workforce development and employment services for chronically unemployed individuals or individuals experiencing poverty preferred.
• Knowledge of the local community preferred, including the ecosystem of violence prevention, intervention, and reduction organizations and actors, as well as local supports and service providers preferred.
• Familiarity and understanding of cognitive-behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and trauma-informed care and restorative justice practices preferred.
• Individuals with criminal records and other lived experience are encouraged to apply.
• No current group or gang affiliations; no pending criminal cases.
• Must have a current Act 33/34 on file.

Physical Demands

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• This position requires travel to sites across the region, including program sites, transitional jobs placement sites, unsubsidized employer partners, and other stakeholders
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear.
• The employee is required to use hands to key, handle, or feel and reach with hands and arms.
• The employee is regularly required to sit, stand and walk.
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and ability to adjust focus.

For more information on READI, a program originally launched in Chicago by the Heartland Alliance, please visit:

https://www.heartlandalliance.org/readi/[MR1]

For more information on Focus on Renewal, please visit: https://www.forstorox.org

An Equal Opportunity Employer